Last week, Lauren Hill of Mount St. Joseph University courageously took the floor for her first college game, refusing to let an inoperable brain tumor keep her from achieving her dream – and WNBA stars Elena Delle Donne and Tamika Catchings were on hand to lend their support.

Shock-Fever Preview

By ALAN FERGUSONPosted Jun 24 2014 1:43PM

While they've been inconsistent this month, the Indiana Fever have proved steady in recent home games. They just haven't had many, but that's about to change.

They'll open a three-game homestand seeking a fourth consecutive win on their own floor Wednesday night against the Tulsa Shock, who are eager to build on their first road victory with help from Indiana native Skylar Diggins.

The Fever (6-6) have alternated wins and losses in six games in June, with only one coming at home. However, eight of their 11 contests before the All-Star break are in Indianapolis.

They fell 83-77 in a competitive visit to Minnesota on Sunday. The game featured seven ties in an 8:17 span bridging the third and fourth quarters, but Indiana was done in by 18 turnovers which led to 25 points for the Lynx.

"Down the stretch, we have to find ways to execute and get scores rather than turnovers," said Karima Christmas, who had a season-high 18 points.

Christmas, averaging 6.0 points, has a combined 32 in the last two games. Leading scorer Briann January (12.0 points per game) had 16 points after averaging 5.3 in her prior four contests.

The Fever, who haven't played at home since beating Seattle on June 11, also play Phoenix and Atlanta on this homestand. To start it, they have a chance to record their longest home win streak since 2012, when they won their final seven regular-season games in Indianapolis en route to the WNBA title.

Indiana, though, will face a Shock team seeking its sixth win in eight games.

Tulsa (5-7), closing a four-game trip, was 0-6 on the road before outlasting Chicago 105-99 in overtime Sunday.

Diggins led the way with a career-high 33 points in front of a number of family and friends who traveled from her hometown of South Bend, Ind.

"I wasn't really thinking of the career game. I'm happy we won on the road," the former Notre Dame star said.

Glory Johnson matched a season high with 22 points and rookie Odyssey Sims contributed 18.

Diggins, among the league leaders with 19.5 points per game, seeks her first win over the Fever after Tulsa was swept in last year's two-game series. She had a combined nine points on 4-of-16 shooting in those games as a rookie, including just two points in an 80-69 defeat at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Indiana's Tamika Catchings totaled 51 points in the two games but hasn't played this season because of an ailing back.

The Fever have won seven in a row over Tulsa and have claimed the last eight home matchups, including the postseason, since a 2008 playoff defeat to the then-Detroit Shock.

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Shock rally to beat Fever 107-102 in OT

By JEFF SKIRVINPosted Jun 25 2014 10:51PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Skylar Diggins made herself right at home - at the Indiana Fever's expense.

The South Bend native and former Notre Dame star scored 32 points in her return to Indiana to help the Tulsa Shock beat the Fever 107-102 in overtime Wednesday night.

Diggins hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and complete a 17-point second-half comeback. She also had seven rebounds and four assists.

''They're very aggressive and tough and they make it tough to get to the basket,'' Diggins said. ''I was just finally able to get some things going, get some baskets in transition and some shots finally started falling down.''

Diggins' 3-point play midway through the overtime period gave Tulsa (6-7) a 102-96 advantage.

The Fever cut it to 102-99 on Briann January's 3-pointer with 2:21 left. But a minute later, Diggins set up Odyssey Sims for a layup that put the game away.

With Indiana up 93-91 with 7.8 seconds left in regulation, Zellous missed the first of two free throws. She made the second to push the margin to three, and Diggins tied it with her 3-pointer in front of a large group of family and friends at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

''We had the game. We just let them take it right from us,'' Zellous said. ''We weren't as aggressive as we should have been and we allowed them to play comfortable.''